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MaST’s Leadership Business Forum: Collaborating and creating new possibilities together

Tips from our February Forum on Leadership

Collective wisdom and experience of 20 Business leaders along with a thought provoking journey from MaST consultants, provided rich food for thought.

What might it be like if our leaders were more aware of unconscious personal and cultural images of leadership that, by sticking to, are holding them back from realising their full potential?

Six top insights from the Forum that may help you in your next step of leadership growth

1. Learning to BE CONSCIOUS and notice what hidden images are influencing you rather than letting them influence you without you knowing . What are the ‘scripts’ you are telling yourself and are operating from? What are the unconscious images that ‘have got you hooked’ so you can’t see you need to change? What is the impact of these on you personally and others around you?

2. What do you believe success looks like? Six different scripts for what being a successful leader is about:

Mary Poppins – I believe I must be “practically perfect in every way” and fear not being able to do this.

Superman – I believe I need to be strong and invincible, know everything and able to do everything.

Standing in Line – I believe I have to conform to expectations and ensure my team follows my orders according to our company culture.

Jousting – I believe I have to win at all costs and will fight to get me and my team there.

Group Collaboration – I believe we can do this together, using all of our collective talents, intelligence and passion.

Wizard Gandalf – I believe in the possibilities of winning against the odds through helping others achieve their dreams and making a difference to the world.The reality is some of these images can tear us apart as they are impossible to achieve all the time.

3. Be curious – Ask yourself:

“What do I / we need to let go of?”

“What do I / we need to keep?”

“What do I / we need to grow within us, both personally and as an organisation?”

4. Hidden agendas: “The Organisation is asking me to say something to my team that I don’t believe in”. Dealing with conflicting interests is a challenge. There is no easy answer. Perhaps the best thing to do is to consider this: “What is the cost of going along with it?”

5. Is being vulnerable consistent with becoming a great leader? There is a tendency for most people to go through a transition from jousting to get to group collaboration. Expect a period of time feeling vulnerable and confused.

6. Learning that all six images can serve a useful purpose in different circumstances. The key is to be able to be conscious of which one you are operating by and to be flexible in moving from one to another.